645 Jour., Bom. Nat. Hist. c oc, Vol. XXXII, No. 4 [May 31, 1928. 



Glum, i, 60 ; Schweinf. in Bull. Herb. Boiss. II, ii, \9.—Setaria ? hirsuta, 

 Kunth Rev. Gram, i, 47, Enum. PL i, 157.— 5 pilifera, Spreng. Syst. iv, Cur. 

 Post. 33.— Panicum javanicum, Hook. f. in F.B.I, vii, 35 (non Poir, partim) ; 

 Cke. ii, 933 {partim). 



This is the species which was described by Hook. f. and many others, 

 amongst them by Cooke, under the name of Panic um javanicum, Poir. 

 According to Stapf P. javanicum, frequently confused with U. Helopus, is U. 

 panicoides, Beauv., a distinct species. A number of synonyms and references 

 have, according to the same authority, to be excluded from the F.B I. under 

 Panic um javanicum : Bentham's Flora of Australia (vii, 476) mentions Panicum 

 Helopus, but it is partly Brachiaria notochtona, Stapf {Panicum notochtonum, 

 Domin) and partly Brachiaria ramosa, Stapf. T. 7 in Duthie's Fodd. Grass. 

 does not represent Panicum Helopus, but Brachiaria ramosa, Stapf. Urochloa 

 panicoides, Beauv. is a synonym of Panicum javanicum, Poir. P. trichopus, 

 Hochst. is Urochloa trichopus, Stapf. 



As a number of foreign elements have crept into the usual descriptions of our 

 species we give Stapf 's description of P. Helopus. 



Annual. Stems tufted, 30-60 cm. high, erect or geniculately ascending from 

 a short sometimes rooting base, frequently sparingly branched from the lower 

 nodes, 4-10-noded, intermediate internodes like the uppermost (peduncle) very 

 sparingly pubescent or almost glabrous. Leaf-blades lanceolate to linear- 

 lanceolate from a wider and semi-amplexicaul base, 3*5-15 cm. by 8-12 mm 

 rarely up to 25 cm. and then linear and narrowed towards the base, soft, flat, 

 pale or yellowish-green, loosely and often finely hirsute with tubercle- based 

 hairs, rarely almost glabrous, margins usually crisped or wavy and more or less 

 ciliate. Sheaths somewhat loose, pale, striate, densely ciliate upwards, more or 

 less shortly hirsute with the hairs tubercle-based, nodes pubescent to subvillous. 

 Ligules a densely ciliate rim. Inflorescence of mostly 4-7 erect or at length 

 more or less spreading stiff or slightly flexuous sessile or subsessile spiciform 

 secund racemes ; common axis 1-2-5 (rarely 75 cm.) long, subsemiterete below, 

 much flattened upwards, pubescent. Racemes moderately dense, 2-seriate, 

 simple, 25-5 cm. long, solitary or here and there approximate and then 

 unevenly distributed ; rhachis straight or slightly wavy, flat on the back, about 



I mm. wide, villous at the base, glabrous upwards, rarely sparingly hair}', 

 angles scabrid ; internodes up to 1 mm. long ; pedicels solitary, reduced to short 

 stout stumps with discoid tips, frequently bearing some long spreading hairs. 

 Spikelets laterally contiguous or subcontiguous ovate to elliptic-oblong, very 

 acute, 4-5 mm. long, greenish, glabrous or pubescent. Involucral glumes 

 dissimilar ; lower broad-ovate, subobtuse to acute, clasping at the base, P5-2 

 mm. long, glabrous or sparingly and minutely pubescent, 5-nerved upper one 

 corresponding in size and outline to the spikelet, prominently 7-11- (mostly 9-) 

 nerved, glabrous or pubescent. Lower floral glume very similar to the upper 

 involucral glume, but flat or slightly depressed, 5-7-nerved with the inner side- 

 nerves distant, glabrous or pubescent, pale oblong, acute, slightly shorter than 

 its glume. Anthers 2 mm. long. Upper floral glume rotundate-elliptic, 

 greenish to pale brown, 2*5-3 mm. long, pale finely transversely rugose or 

 granular, mucro up to 1 mm. long, sparingly barbellate. Grain rotundate- 

 elliptic on outline, much compressed, about 2 mm. long, yellowish or greenish. 



Locality'. Gujarat: Baroda (Cooke teste Cooke). — Deccan : Katraj Ghat, 



II miles S. E. of Poona (Shevade !) ; Poona (Woodrow !) ; Deolali (Blatter 

 A110 !) ; Ganeshkhind Bot. Gardens (Patwardhan !) ; Chattarshinji (Bhide !) ; 

 Mangiri, near Poona (Gammie 15344!); Akola (Mamlatdar of Akola!); 

 Dapuri near Poona (Jacquemont 482 \).—S- M. Country : Dharwar, elevation 

 2,500 ft., rainfall 35 inches (Sedgwick 2157!); Kilgerry (Talbot 2419 !) ; 

 Haveri (Talbot 2284 !) ; Bijapur (Meebold 11201 !) ; Badami (Woodrow teste 

 Cooke).— Kandra : Kulgi, elevation 2,000 ft. (Talbot 2283 !) ; Nundgod (Mam- 

 ratdar of Nundgod). 



Distribution : Plains of India, Ceylon, tropical and S. Africa, Mauritius. 



49. Echinochloa, Beauv. Agrost. 53, t. 11, fig. 2 ; Stapf in Prain 

 Fl. Trop. Afr. ix, 604. 



Annual or perennial. Leaf-blades from a slightly constricted or equally wide 

 rarely much attenuated base. Ligules or represented by a transverse fringe of 

 hairs. Panicles of crowded or loosely arranged secund specif orm branches 



[24] 



